After the training session, they were given an hour or so for a break.
Most of the members who passed the training had a meal and rested. Seol-Hwi on the other hand was mostly still fine.
It was not at the level where he was in perfect shape, but his body did not take any damage.
“Is it possible to leave for a while?”
“Well, it doesn’t matter as long as you come back. However, if you don’t return in an hour, we’ll consider that you’ve retired,”
Said the instructor as he tilted his head, but he didn’t stop him. The competition was pretty intense, so a little free time made sense.
This was because there were not just a few people who wanted to recover their body or do things which would be considered out of the ordinary for their recovery process.
“I will come back,”
Said Seol-Hwi as he left the place.
Was it because of the place or the strong people? His concentration was constantly out of whack.
And it was also because of the one person who kept popping into the head, the woman who felt more and more vivid as time went on.
I wonder if she is doing well.
Time was such an odd thing. Normally, the more it flowed, the frequent memories would then be forgotten, and hope would slowly fade away, but instead, his memories were playing back so vividly for him.
In the meantime, it was not just one of two lives where he changed his actions according to his previous lives as he went back to the past. Which was why things like revenge and the humiliation of having to bow down to others even when things felt unfair were slowly being forgotten and fading away.
Seo Ryeong—
Such emotions were lacking for people who are toxic.
The more lives he used, the more time felt overlapped and the clearer things were getting rather than being forgotten.
If I get a chance to take a look…
In this life, he had no connection with Seo Ryeong. Rather, Seol-Hwi was just curious.
How was she since she did not show up? How was she living this time? What difficulties were she facing?
Was there anything he could do to help her? Was it safe? How much can he speak…
No, forget everything.
To be honest, he wanted a glance at her.
Hidden Truth Corps…
Shhh. Tak.
After surveying the area, Seol-Hwi used light footwork.
Black Tortoise Garden—
It was a building built for the training of the troops, though it was not a difficult place to get into. The outer areas for this place were not strictly monitored, and Seol-Hwi knew because he lived here for a long time.
It was because he knew where the guards were, but even if he did not know that, he still knew how to fool the guards, so it would not be hard regardless.
“…”
Was it alright if he headed in a bit more?
Seol-Hwi looked up at the Black Tortoise and thought that although his current affiliation was clearly under the command of the Fourth Disciple, things could be misunderstood if he went in for no reason.
“Not for me, but for that side, it will be the first time…”
Judging by the light coming from the window on the second floor of the Black Tortoise Hall, it seemed like they were training.
He was about to just look around and leave, but now that he was here, he felt a bit more curious.
Who was the new captain?
Would he handle the team well?
When Seol-Hwi, who had been wandering around for a while, raised his head—
“Ehh. Who is there?”
Clack!
A man opened the door and spoke, and seeing that man, Seol-hw’s eyes widened.
“You…”
As the dark face was exposed by the moonlight, Seol-Hwi lost his words.
He was familiar.
It was Yong Jin.
Although he was temperamental, he had clear eyes which would not betray one’s trust. He was a loyal man who fought without leaving Seol-Hwi until the bitter end.
Even his confident walk, with hair fluttering, had his own color to it.
“What? You know me?”
When Seol-Hwi looked at him, Yong Jin stopped walking.
Looking so intently meant that he had a purpose for it or something.
“…”
Seol-Hwi, who thought about it, then immediately decided. At this point, nothing good would come about in getting involved with these members.
Especially for their own good.
“I seem to have gone the wrong way.”
“Wrong way? There are guards at the borders though?”
Seol-Hwi said that, but Yong Jin did not seem to believe it.
“There is nothing to be wary of. I am a subordinate to the Earth Demon.”
“And your status is?”
“A secret warrior and I am on a different mission.”
“…You name?”
Hearing that they belonged to the same faction, Yong Jin asked with caution.
“Seol-Hwi.”
“Seol-Hwi. Hmm.”
Yong Jin looked at Seol-Hwi and then nodded after some thought.
“Do not just hang around. It is easy to get misunderstood because the training area is different and your status is different.”
“I will be careful.”
Seol-Hwi bowed and turned around,
Phew.
At the same time, he looked a bit disappointed. Since he came this far, he wanted to see the others.
Jeok Song, and Yorim, who had betrayed him, but whose feelings he could guess. Even though they were not here, he wanted to see Imugi and Songhwa who always made him smile.
Among them, he wanted to see…
“What are you doing here?”
Seol-Hwi’s steps halted again at the voice he heard.
It was a familiar one.
This voice was exactly the one he wanted to hear.
“Ah. Captain.”
Captain?
Seol-Hwi’s eyes widened. If he was not mistaken, this was hers.
Seol-Hwi turned around, unable to believe it.
Step
A woman slowly walked from the darkness, and seeing her here made Seol-Hwi’s mind go completely blank.
It has not changed. Nothing changed.
To the extent that he wondered how it could be so similar to what he imagined.
“There… you are?”
She was the one waiting for him in the previous life. He wondered what kind of life she was leading in the present one. The woman he liked for the first time in his life as he continued to repeat it, Seo Ryeong.
“What reason did you have to come here?”
He was a subordinate of the Earth Demon, and a secret warrior who carried out missions given to him.
After listening to the brief explanation from Yong Jin, she treated him politely.
But that was for those who did not know what being polite meant. Treating him in that manner showed that she was not sure how to treat him.
What was he expecting?
Seol-Hwi felt a little sad when he could not see the past expression.
“I am…”
Maybe that was why he could not speak. There were so many things he wanted to say, but even if a few of them were answered, the alertness of Seo Ryeong was too high now.
So he had to do something.
“I heard that recently a new unit was commanded, and it is a rather interesting one.”
“An interesting one? Well, it must be because I am a woman. How can a girl lead the men?”
Seo Ryeon smiled.
“No, not that. My words…”
Seol-Hwi waved his hand.
For some reason he felt like this would be a huge thing. He heard it, and her face was smiling, but not her eyes.
“I heard that Earth Demon is pretty interested. Must be one who looks talented.”
“The Earth Demon… said it?”
“Yes. He said that there was potential, so he wanted to witness the development. At least he phrased it like that.”
Seol-Hwi dragged the Earth Demon into this. It was a simple way of using the name of his boss.
And since there are many who did not know what the Earth Demon thought of, he could be used in this situation.
“Hmm. I understand. Still, if there is no special mission you have from the Earth Demon, then be wary about coming in here. There are certain areas to be wary off.”
Seol-Hwi sensed coldness in her words.
He realized that if he was not careful about his actions, then he would be severely misunderstood and that would cause damage to himself.
“I will do that. Forgive my rudeness.”
“Ahh. Yes.”
Seo Reong bowed her head and she turned back.
Step. Step.
“…”
Seol-Hwi felt frustrated. He wanted to head over and say many things to her.
But if he went to her now, it would just be talk. And then there was this fear of a relationship forming again.
In this life, he could not afford to connect with her.
The more she was with him, the more miserable her life would be.
“…Phew.”
With that thought in mind, Seol-Hwi’s gaze was looking at Seo Ryeong until the moment she fully disappeared from his field of view..
“This time it will be tactical training.”
It was now the third training session for the group. Ju Gwi-seon was speaking with his voice raised.
A huge valley stretched out in front of him, and he could see the members sticking their heads out.
There were about 20 members, all in good health, split into groups of five, and put into water.
“The first is breathing. It is the most frequently noticed thing during convert operations and is the most basic thing to do when performing stealth, a series which erases the problem of being discovered.”
Ju Gwi-seon looked down at them and continued.
“The Blood Strong Troops must have learned it well. If you practice full body breathing properly, you will rarely faint or feel dizzy in water.”
Full Body Breathing technique?
Seol-Hwi, who was not originally a member of the Blood Strong Troops, naturally did not know what this technique was.
But he did not bother asking.
Because there was no one to explain it, but actually Seol-Hwi himself had learned at least the good way to do it.
“Now, everyone, lower your heads! Into the water now!”
Along with the shout of the instructor came other voices,
“Hurry into the water!”
“Hurry! Breathe and you are disqualified!”
“What are you doing!”
Continuing with the physical strength training and not martial arts training. And it was training in the water which drained physical strength, so they would almost faint.
Even with such training, the members followed the orders of the instructors without saying anything.
How long do we have to do this?
Seol-Hwi thought while entering the water. If he wanted to, he would have fainted already.
It was possible to stay long in the water only if the body was fully healthy and the mind was focused. The problem was that there was no word on when they would be allowed to get out.
And this stimulated their fear.
As expected, they are all trained.
When he glanced around, there was Yo Su-gwang.
There was no agitation as he continued to practice like this. Ju Seorin was like that too. She put her hands, clasped like there was some sort of breathing technique.
And then another—
They are targeting me.
That man was staring at him fiercely. Ghost Incarnate whom he defeated in the past. That guy was continuing to glare at him.
We will have to fight anyway.
The duration to stay in.
“Come on!”
Around this angle, he went into the water. And after saying something a couple of times, he put his face cusped by hand.
He repeated the process for more than two hours, and then a hellish process was repeated.
“Come!”
“Bring your faces out!”
Seol-Hwi brought his face out of the water, and he saw the red sunset saying it was evening.
And when he went down and came up again, it was late evening. And from then—
The reason why one could not focus began to happen.
“Come on now, get up.”
Fortunately, before midnight, everyone was able to get themselves out of the water.
But the training was harsh.
The instructors went and brought them heavy sandbags and placed them on the members.
The weight is…
Pretty fine.
Maybe it was because they were in water, but it was just a couple of sandbags, and yet, it felt like there were rocks on his body, to the point where his breathing stopped.
“I will say it just once. Listen carefully.”
While the members were stumbling around, the instructor explained,
“From now, hide in the forest on the other side. It starts when the sun comes up. Once the groups have entered… one instructor will come to find you. And to those who are found, they will be given penalty points.”
Swish
He looked around as he said,
“If even one person of a group is found, the group will be disqualified. If you can fool the eyes of the instructor until morning, that group will pass. So do you have any questions?”
“…”
No one said anything. Everyone just shook their heads with faces that looked like they would faint.
All day long.
They were pushed to the peak of mental and physical exhaustion, and in such a situation, they wanted all of them to hide? This felt too much.
“Hiding well when you are in good condition is something even dogs and cows will do.”
“…”
“To take one breath and hide in the midst of the water while having such a lack of oxygen, being chased by enemies, and having difficulty breathing. That is true stealth.”
The instructor seemed to have other ideas, and after listening to him, Seol-Hwi understood it.
“This class training is more about group work. If even one person is discovered, the entire group is out. If you don’t want to fail, then cooperate with your team.”
“…”
“Or you can do the other way. If you want to get caught, use methods where the other group gets caught first.”
“…!”
Now the people looked lively.
It was difficult to handle things yourself if a member is too weak. So instead, secure your own safety by getting other members of other groups discovered.
Because he thought he could do something about it.
“If you want to pass, use any means and methods. But! Killing someone of the same or other group is strictly prohibited. Isn’t it funny that one who should hide wants to spill blood?”
“…”
“Then, start! Go!”
At his shout, everyone began to run. And Seol-Hwi moved belatedly—
Shhh
Looking at the face of Ghost Incarnate who was watching him from ahead.
